Westrock Coffee reports Q3 loss, sales improve

Central ArkansasLatest NewsManufacturing

by Roby Brock ([email protected]) ago 0 views 

Little Rock-based Westrock Coffee reported slightly stronger sales in its third quarter, but still finished in the red as company leaders cited “a challenging macroeconomic environment.”

Westrock Coffee reported quarterly sales of $220.86 million compared to $219.61 million one year ago. The coffee, tea and beverage company posted a $14.25 million loss compared to a $16.62 million profit in the previous third quarter. Diluted earnings per share were negative 16 cents compared to 0.15 one year ago.

“Westrock Coffee Company had a strong third quarter despite what continues to be a challenging macroeconomic environment for the consumer. This is the third consecutive quarter of impressive, combined segment, year over year performance, which is driven by improvements in our base business, as the Conway extract and ready-to-drink facility will not see substantive revenues until early 2025,” said Westrock Coffee CEO and co-founder Scott Ford.

“As it relates to the new Conway facility, the sales and customer onboarding work that the team has excelled at over the past two years is nothing short of phenomenal. It has resulted in more than a dozen new customers who will begin placing orders in the first quarter of 2025, from whom, once fully onboarded, are expected to produce more annual Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA than the entirety of our current base business. This is the promised earnings power of transitioning this facility from a construction and product development project to a filled and operational production plant,” Ford added.

Ford noted that contributions to the quarterly net loss included:

  • $2.5 million of transaction, restructuring and integration expense;
  • $7.9 million of pre-production costs related to the Conway extract and ready-to-drink facility;
  • $4.0 million of scale-up costs related to the Conway facility;
  • $1.2 million of impairment charges related to previously announced plant closures; and
  • $5.5 million non-cash gains from the change in fair value of warrant liabilities.

Westrock Coffee also announced the appointment of Ken Parent to its board of directors. Parent served as special advisor to the chairman and chief executive officer of Pilot Flying J, the largest travel center operator in North America from January 2021 to February 2023.

From 2014 to December 31, 2020, Parent served as president of Pilot Flying J. In this role, he oversaw all company functions, including human resources, technology, finance, real estate and construction. Parent also led strategic initiatives on behalf of Pilot Flying J. He holds a Master of Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Diego State University.

Shares of Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ: WEST) closed trading Thursday at $7.30. The company’s stock has traded between a low of $5.28 per share and a high of $11.21 per share over the last 52 weeks.